Dodgers’ Chase Utley, Chris Taylor help subdue Cubs

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Chase Utley watches his two-RBI single against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Chris Taylor, right, celebrates his two-run home run with Brandon McCarthy as Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Montero looks on during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, May 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

With two outs in the fourth inning on Saturday, Chase Utley walked to the plate amid a scoreless tie.

Utley saw the first pitch from Chicago Cubs right-hander John Lackey, a flattening 78 mph curveball, and slapped it toward left field. The ball took one bounce in the infield dirt, a couple inches to the right of diving shortstop Addison Russell. The home fans roared. Kiké Hernandez, who had just stolen third base, could walk the remaining 90 feet to score. The Dodgers moved ahead by one run.

To open the weekend series the previous night, Utley had also given the Dodgers their first lift, in the third inning of what would be a shutout victory, driving a solo home run to center field.

His club again shut out Chicago, 5-0, a seventh win in nine games, moving in line for a sweep with Clayton Kershaw to step onto the mound today. The rematch of last year’s National League Championship Series is the first this season at Dodger Stadium. In early April, the Cubs took two out of three games at Wrigley Field.

All five of the Dodgers’ runs Saturday evening were driven in by perhaps two of their more unexpected stars, Utley, the 38-year-old veteran, and Chris Taylor, a 26-year-old utility infielder who had never started in the outfield until last week.

“We have a lot of guys on our roster, than when they’re in there, they do something to help you win baseball games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Neither player was in the lineup on opening day. Taylor began at Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Both piled on Lackey in the bottom of the fifth.

Taylor began the onslaught when he ripped the first pitch he saw a few feet inside the left-field foul pole for a two-run home run.

“He walked the guy before,” Taylor said, “so I had a feeling he wanted to get ahead. I wanted to be aggressive. He left a slider up in the middle of the plate.”

It was his sixth home run of the season since he debuted on April 19. Only three Dodgers have hit more of them: Cody Bellinger (nine), Yasiel Puig (eight) and Corey Seager (seven).

“You try to think of superlatives with a guy like Chris,” Roberts said.

Utley’s second two-out single later in the inning brought in two more runs.

Over his past three games, the veteran second baseman has a pair of home runs and five RBI, and over 21 games in May, he has hit .293, a sudden turnaround. In April, Utley had hit .122.

“He’s a guy, you look at his baseball card, it’s pretty good,” Roberts said. “So I trust he’s going to figure out something.”

Has he?

“Seeing the ball a little better,” Utley said, “among a number of things.”

Robert added Utley’s balance in his batting stance has improved.

“Staying connected to the ground,” Roberts observed. “He was a little coming off his backside, he was not getting into his legs as much. For me, he’s using his legs more. He’s in a better position to hit.

All five runs of the runs produced by Utley and Taylor came against Lackey, who exited after five innings in an uncharacteristic outing.

Over his decade-long career, there was no team that he had fared better against than the Dodgers. In his first 12 meetings, Lackey held a 1.73 ERA. That meant a previous total of only 16 earned runs.

Lackey, along with fellow veteran right-hander Brandon McCarthy carried dueling no-hitters through the first three innings in front of 48,322 at Dodger Stadium.

The Cubs broke McCarthy’s no-hitter in the top of the fourth when Ian Happ lined a 93 mph fastball to center with two outs. Happ passed first base and looked to extend his single into a double. As he slid into second base, he appeared to beat a tag applied by Seager, the shortstop who caught a well-placed throw by Taylor, and was ruled safe. It was, however, overruled upon review to end the inning.

McCarthy, who tossed six scoreless innings, left after only 79 pitches for what Roberts described as tendinitis in his right knee.

“For me, it was an easy decision to not try to push it and potentially put him in harm’s way,” Roberts said.

McCarthy, who is 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA this season, was scheduled to undergo an MRI.

Ross Stripling, who took over in the seventh inning, notched a three-inning save.

Joey Kaufman is the USC beat writer for the Southern California News Group. Since joining the Orange County Register in 2015, he has also covered Major League Baseball and UCLA athletics. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers Association of America. Kaufman grew up in beautiful downtown Burbank.